Sema Fonkem 05 March 2026

On Sunday, March 02, 2026, 63 Africans with bogus South African passports arrived  Johannesburg after being deported by Ireland’s Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

The group that arrived South Africa on a chartered flight consists of 54 adults and nine minors. Among them is the well-known Oyekanmi family of Nigerian origin.

Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons aged twenty, fourteen and five years, left South Africa in 2023 under false pretence.

In Oyekanmi’s asylum seeker application with government of Ireland, she lied that she and her children had been victims of xenophobic attacks and attempted kidnapping.

After investigations, the Garda National Immigration Bureau discovered that Oyekanmi lied in her application, leading to her refusal to stay in Ireland.

Before Oyekanmi’s deportation, a protest by neighbours, school children and other groups of well wishers failed to persuade Ireland’s department of justice, Home Affairs and Migration to reverse its decision to deport her.

In 2022, South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) announced it identified and blocked about 500 fake passports. It is suspected that the 28 men, 26 women and 9 children deported to South Africa are some of the individuals in possession of the fraudulent passports.

10 of the 54 adults deported have been convicted in Ireland for serious offences including domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, fraud and drug trafficking.

All the deportees were accompanied by members of Garda Síochána, medical staff, a human rights observer and an interpreter.

The identites of all the deportees are not known at this time although according to sources, only few South Africans citizens who violated Ireland’s immigration restrictions are among them. The Majority of them are Nigerians, Ghanaians and other African nationals who have false South African passports.

Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan confirmed the deportation order on a publication dated March 01 2026.

The South African government has yet to address the issue.